Joseph Berkovitz

I have no idea what the name of Bill’s boat is, it’s the one I’ve always seen him paddling… it has some age on it. I believe a substantial part of the leaving-in-dust action may be due to Bill himself!

As it happened, the continuing prospect of 15 kt NE winds and 6-8 foot swells diminished this WLP’s attendance to 3 people: Bill Voss, Bob Levine and myself. Launching in Manchester Harbor at 10:45 or so (2 plus hours past HW) and heading west to Misery Island, we did avoid the bigger waves, but did not entirely dodge the wind. And we were treated to mild temps and bright Sun as befits spring.

Skirting a large marine construction project at the mouth of the harbor (which leaves something like a 20 foot wide nav channel) we headed south to explore the inside of the ledges near Ram Island. Leaving the harbor we immediately noticed the swell - under 1 foot, but in an area where normally there is almost none.

the gaps in the ledges that open onto Salem Sound revealed a violent picture of the sea state outside: huge swells breaking on the shallows sending cascades of foam and turbulent water through the openings. It was possible to safely approach some of these openings and watch the action. There was enough wave energy that a counter current was flooding in and creating a little tide race with the wind chop in the bay.

From there we headed west to Great Misery intending to stop at Cocktail Cove on the inside which we had already scouted from West beach as being landable. We moved inshore a bit to maintain some protection from the open waters; even so there was a section north of Saulli Rock where the swells were standing up pretty high—but not breaking. So we continued to Cocktail Cove. It was calm and at least partly sheltered from the wind. Bill stopped for a quick break. Then we decided to go around the lee side of the island to see the Misery Gut and perhaps find a better spot along the way. 

The west side of Misery was almost idyllic: no wind, low swells. We passed a couple of nice beaches and continued to the gut. The beaches there were landable but more windy and exposed so after a brief excursion outside Little Misery to check out the conditions again (big non-breaking swells, very windy) we headed back to idyllic beach #2 for our warm sunny lunch spot.

Post lunch it was heading back straight into the wind to gain some lee from the shore, as Bill took off in his skin-on-frame boat leaving me in the dust. Along the shore it was less windy but needed balancing between avoiding breakers and staying in the lee. Finally back to Manchester at 2:10. 

Great paddle!

if it would help to have a Marblehead resident talk to them, I'm happy to do that.

Seconding the harbor islands idea 

Here we go with the first WLP of the year! This week's Wednesday Lunch Paddle is on Wed, May 11. We will meet at 10:00 am and launch promptly at 10:30 am. The venue is still being decided but will be somewhere on the south side of Cape Ann, probably in Beverly or Manchester. Register if you want to go and we'll update you tomorrow when we have a firmer plan.

Registration: To attend, please register using this form which will also add your information to the float plan: https://forms.gle/2StSBbVSzL8FFSh46

To join the trip you must be a paid-up NSPN member, and have signed the club participant waiver for this season. Your signup information will only be shared with other members on the trip.

Predictions and Plan:  The big picture for early this week is sustained NE winds caused by a Mid-Atlantic storm. The storm itself is forecast to stay well south of us and move further away, but the NE flow covers a huge swath of the Atlantic to our east, so that means big swell - 5-6 feet @ 9 sec in open waters.  Local winds on Wed are predicted to be in the 10-15 kt range. Temps 45-55  F, rain ending early in the morning with some sun possible.  The end of the week is much warmer, but this is a WLP and Wednesday is the only day that works for both of us this week.

Our plan is to launch in a sheltered location with some lee from the wind and protection from the swell so that we can get out on the water safely. After that we will go where the tastes and comfort level of the group dictate.

NOAA point forecast link: https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-70.83217&lat=42.51042#.YnkEl5PMKDV

Tides (Salem Harbor):

Covid-19 paddling: this trip requires paddlers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 per request of the trip organizers, as rescues or first aid may require close physical contact.

Trip level: WLPs do not have a specific level. All properly equipped members are welcome: please bring boats with rigged deck lines, bulkheads, spray skirts, and dress for immersion.

NOTE: The Wednesday Lunch Paddles are cooperative adventures, not guided trips. We encourage paddlers to make their own independent decision about their comfort level with conditions at the time of the paddle. Each participant is responsible for her/his own safety. Don’t assume the trip initiators are smarter, stronger, better at rough water, more attractive, or more skilled paddlers than you are. For more information, see this description of our trip philosophy from the NSPN web site. 

Please PM me if you have questions or if you haven’t paddled with me or Bob before.

Hope to see you there!

Was this session recorded for those of us who were interested but couldn’t make it? (Count me as one.)

I got the same advice. However this solution a) produces a map that is unshareable with others who are not GaiaGPS customers, and b) uses a much too large chart scale for a given zoom level so that you can’t see any detail unless zoomed way in (the old Gaia charts didn’t have this problem)  

the inability to share with anyone on the web wrecks the whole point of using Gaia, and the resolution problem is a real drag even if you’re not sharing. This fix is just a stopgap that their support folks cobbled together. They know it, which is why they readily refunded my subscription and I’d advise others to ask for the same. The company was bought last year and the product has been steadily going downhill ever since.

A number of us found ourselves there by chance last summer (I went in the house and looked around) and I remember talking to Dan Carr about it so yes I think they know. 

It’s a nice enough bunch of ledges (at high water the island would be claustrophobic to live on IMHO) but there are much nicer and bigger MITA islands right nearby like Stevens and Norton. Not sure it would add much to the trail…

The story about the guy wanting to shoot up the wildlife is strange. I guess there are a few ducks there but the entertainment would not have lasted long as it’s so tiny. 

Bay Area Sea Kayakers do this without the coast guard - they have zoom workshops, with video turned off and different members role-playing paddlers and CG operators and nearby boats in breakout rooms. I have never attended one of these but I heard people learned a lot from trying it. I would bet it starts to feel pretty realistic pretty fast. If you like I can find out more. 

Here are another couple of things to throw into this mix. I’m not advocating for any particular option here, these are just choices that may be relevant for kayakers alongside (not instead of) VHF radios. I think redundancy is good.

- your smartphone can give you your GPS coordinates to verbally relay over a VHF call even if you have no cell signal. On iPhones this is on the built in Compass app.

- the coast guard can use your smartphone to locate you if you do have a cell signal. Typically this would be in response to a 911 call but one could also give ones phone number over a regular VHF distress call. 

- if you do have a cell signal, calling 911 or a local marine authority can be a good choice alongside a VHF call.  For example the local Harbormaster in Marblehead has told me to always call his office via the police dept. if in trouble OtW nearby, as he can respond faster than the time it takes for CG to figure out to call him. 

- satellite based devices like SPOT or Garmin inReach are another (although pricey) possible complement to DSC radios as they connect you with a dispatch center even when VHF or cell can’t reach anyone. If you are in Maine offshore and outside of of a rocky island you may not have VHF line of sight to anyone or anything. 

obviously to leverage any of these options you need to be able to use these other devices in a tough situation in the water. With practice, a good waterproof case (and something to brush water off the screen) it can be done. 

Since no one has expressed interest in this trip I am cancelling it. If you wanted to go out tomorrow but didn’t post to say so, please PM me and we can work something out,  either tomorrow or at a future date!

this trip is cancelled since no one has signed up

IMPROMPTU TRIP: In the wake of the cancelled Easter Bunny Paddle, let's have an Un-Bunny Paddle on Sunday. (If you see any actual bunnies, be aware that they are not officially connected with the event.) note: renamed to Orthodox Easter in observance of the fact that Easter is celebrated on different dates due to calendrical schisms over the years.

This is a COLD WATER PADDLE open to anyone with safe gear. If you don't have a lot of experience doing this yet, this could be a good time to try. We are not going far, possibly no more than a few miles in protected water. The goal is just to get out in this cold-shoulder season, and have a fun and safe time!

Here is the low-down:- We are meeting at Riverhead Beach, Marblehead at 9:00. The goal is to launch no later than 10:00 as the tide will be dropping, lengthening our carry. Low Tide is at 12:40. The forecast is for air temps in the low 40s, NE wind diminishing from 10 to 5 kt, waves in Salem Sound probably 1-2 ft. That NE wind will be raw and make it feel colder when we launch!
- You must be dressed for immersion. This paddle will feature a swim-before-we-launch gear test - everyone will be getting in the 44ºF water—albeit briefly—to make sure we are all reasonably comfortable with that. For all practical purposes, this means you need to be wearing a drysuit.
- You must have a spray skirt.
- Neoprene gloves and neoprene hood/cap are very strongly recommended. Again.... 44ºF water.
- Boats must have bulkheads fore and aft with static deck lines.
- You will need lunch and a hot beverage.

Please post your interest and/or questions below.

There actually were graupel-spitting clouds today over Salem sound, in case those not living around here are curious! For a period of around 10 minutes right around noon we had small 1/4” hail coming down. But there were no thunder claps or lightning flashes and the wind did not seem to pick up all that much. It was all over quickly and with little apparent danger to any foolish boaters who may or may not have been out there. 

(I wasn’t.)

Gaia has sadly become unusable since this change (and they are responsible, since the underlying new-style NOAA charts have plenty of detail). Since their support people could provide no indication of a pending fix  I have cancelled my subscription to Gaia and now use the Navionics app, the same as countless non-kayak boaters. It is not as good for route planning or sharing but excellent for in-the-moment navigation. the charts are complete and functional and the integration with weather and tidal information is very good. Also they have their own chart database that extends worldwide so usable in Canada, Europe, etc.

Rob,

To help us decide whether and how to participate, can you outline the goals of this session for us? What will attendees accomplish with you, what will they come away with, and roughly what next steps will follow?

thanks very much!

Expect to be "there".

Sorry I won’t be able to make this after all — have fun!

Intend to attend. 

This trip is now full. Thanks to everyone who asked to come!

Very recent Canada update: as of April 1 tests aren’t required for fully vaccinated travelers. So unless there are new unfortunate changes to the rules, this trip will likely visit the Bay Of Fundy/Campobello area #whales #cliffs #islands #beauty #nottheusa

Barb, keep on paddling and practicing because I’m sure you’re closer to being ready than you might think!

Visiting Down East Maine's Bold Coast and Cobscook Bay, this trip visits one of the most dramatic coastlines in the world, along with one of the most dynamic and unique tidal estuaries. It takes place over a long weekend from Friday August 26 to Monday August 29, 2022. Bob Levine (rylevine) and Joe Berkovitz are the trip organizers. Daily paddles are organized, using the Sunset Point campground in Lubec as a home base.

Ranging from Machias Bay to Lubec and beyond to Canada's Campobello Island, the Bold Coast is a largely undeveloped and wild region with lots of dramatic cliffs and rocks, 25+ foot tidal ranges, strong currents and amazing wildlife. Take a look at the 2020 trip report for a sense of what it can be like. (We skipped 2021 due to the pandemic.)

This is considered an L3+ trip. Paddlers joining this trip should be prepared for:

- Daily trips of 12-15 miles, with limited bailout options. Much of the Bold Coast is roadless wilderness with high cliffs rising out of the ocean.
- Strong currents (> 4 kt in some places) and turbulent eddy lines.
- Cold water, often in the low 50s even in high summer, with air temps in the 60s. A drysuit is essential some days.
- Rough water conditions on a very exposed coastline where waves interact with rocks, weather, and current.
- The need to stay in a cohesive pod and maintain strong situational awareness.
- An international border crossing (Covid-19 rules permitting) requiring a passport.

The general plan for this trip is to section-paddle various portions of the Bold Coast and Cobscook Bay, adjusting the plan for conditions, interest and level of challenge. Each day we will choose from various out-and-back or shuttle adventures and have a lot of freedom with the length and nature of the paddles.  We may visit the Campobello Island area also if international travel rules make this feasible.
 
Despite the challenging waters, we want to be safe! Each day we'll evaluate our options carefully. There are a wide range of locations to choose from, and directions in which to go. And if conditions are too bad to paddle, there is really great hiking in the area.
 
Home base for this adventure is the Sunset Point RV Park in Lubec, which is a very clean and well-run campsite. Despite the name, it's not all about RV's -- actually, the area reserved for tents is a perfect grassy headland that juts out into part of Cobscook Bay, with its own little boat ramp and pavilion. Showers are free with unlimited hot water and if you care, there is free Internet at the office.
 
In terms of logistics, plan for 6-7 hours of road travel to reach the Bold Coast from the Boston area. The campsite is reserved starting Thursday 8/25 so that everyone can come up on Thursday and we can hang out together and do some planning before getting a good night's rest. Checkout is Monday 8/29. Individual arrangements can be made to extend your stay earlier or later, as the tenting area of the campground is usually only sparsely occupied.  Please work that out with us up front.
 
Each person's share of the campsite rental will run to a total of $40-50 for the 4 nights - the exact amount depends on the group size.

This trip is now full. If you would like to get on the waitlist, please fill out this form.

Conversation about the trip is on a private message thread for the participants, but this forum topic can be used for general Q&A about the trip, or you can PM either Bob or Joe .

I have used the inflatable Handi rack a number of times on rental cars in California where I keep a boat (along with this rack) at my daughter’s house. It is quite well designed and secures itself to the car and also - via a separate loop - the kayak to the rack. The squishiness of the inflated rack grips the boat more securely than foam blocks and keeps the boat from moving around. Bow and stern tie downs essential.

If it’s not a busy weekend day One can always put in at fisherman’s beach in Swampscott and paddle down the edge of Nahant bay. 

It’s happened at Nahant too, but only a few times. Depends on the ranger…